Woman, 22, suffers life-threatening head injury in snowmobile crash

A woman is fighting for her life in the hospital after suffering a head injury in a snowmobile crash that saw the driver arrested for DWI.

The crash happened just after midnight on East Rush Lake, in Nessel Township, Chisago County, where the 2003 Yamaha 600 snowmobile crashed into a vehicle parked on the lake.

A 22-year-old woman fell and hit her head before falling unconscious. She was being taken to a hospital in a private vehicle when an ambulance arrived and took her to Fairview Lakes Hospital in Wyoming.

She has since been taken to the University of Minnesota Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

Neither she nor the driver of the snowmobile – a 22-year-old man from North Branch – were wearing helmets.

And it appears as though the driver may have been drinking too, with the Chisago County Sheriff's Office saying he's been booked for criminal vehicular operation and DWI.

Another woman was also arrested for DWI as a result of the police investigation.

The sheriff's office said that alcohol is believed to be "the main contributing factor in this crash."